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Concept
Patriarchate
Summary
Patriarchate (πατριαρχεῖον, patriarcheîon) is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were established by the apostles as apostolic sees in the 1st century: Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. Constantinople was added in the 4th century and Jerusalem in the 5th century. Eventually, together, these five were recognised as the pentarchy by the Council of Ephesus in 431.
In the rest of the history of Christianity, a few other patriarchates were gradually recognised by any of these above ancient episcopal sees. With time, eventually some of them fell due to military occupations following the Islamic conquests of the Middle East and North Africa, and became titular or honorary patriarchates with no actual institutional jurisdiction on the original site.
Apostolic see and Pentarchy
As Christianity expanded in the Roman Empire, larger concentrations of believers were to be found in urban environs. The Bishop of such cities came to hold a pre-eminence of honour in the province of which his diocese was the capital, with some eventually gaining a primacy even over other provinces with their own primus inter pares. The Council of Nicea codified this arrangement into canon law in accordance with the growing standardisation of ecclesiastical diocesan structure along the lines of secular Roman blueprints. It also gave the first documented use of the term "Metropolitan" in reference to such bishops as had the presidency over a province. Meanwhile Rome, Alexandria and Antioch had grown in ecclesiastical prominence such that by the early 4th century they had long-recognised jurisdiction over more than one province of bishops each. Alexandria had attained primacy over Roman Egypt, Roman Libya, and Pentapolis. Rome had Primatial authority over provinces within 100 miles of the city. By virtue of their authority over multiple provinces, the Sees of Rome Alexandria and Antioch were by this time already exercising "supra-metropolitan" jurisdiction resembling that which would later become known as Patriarchates.
Official source
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